Do gay and straight people find the same things funny? No, according to Frank DeCaro, gay writer and performer. If you are straight and you go to see Chicago, the movie, youll come out and youll say, It was really good. But if you are gay youll say, Ohhh, my Gaaahd! It was ama-a-a-a-zing! We have to go again! said DeCaro to the overwhelmingly gay audience at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center on Monday night. Flotilla DeBarge, drag performer and comedian, thought gay people were just overenthusiastic.

DeCaro, DeBarge and other gay writers, comedians, and performers participated in a provocative panel discussion celebrating gay humor. Julie Halston, a comedienne/ actress, who recently joined the cast of Hairspray, was a moderator. Her questions and comments spurred hilarious responses from panelists, while the room frequently erupted in laughter.

So, was everybody out when they started performing? asked Halston at one point. A majority of the panelists said they were not, but that their friends had known they were gay.

I wasnt out, but everyone that I knew knew I was gay, explained Judy Gold, a standup comedian and host of HBOs At the Multiplex with Judy Gold. There was something funny about my life, and being gay was just a part of my life, but it wasnt all of my life. Gold went on to say that having two children and having a family made her want to be open about her sexuality.

Bob Smith, known as the first openly gay comedian to appear on The Tonight Show, recalled the day when his mother found out that he is gay.

My mother read these 3-by-5 cards I was writing jokes on about being gay, said Smith. She said, Well, it could be worse. Look at them across the street with those two retarded grandchildren. 

Asked if they resent comedians who are gay, but not out, panelists had various responses. Reno, the comedian and performer, said she felt its hard to come out and that not everyone is always ready for it. Gay comedians who are not out dont bother Smith at all, while DeCaro sounded a bit ambiguous.

I dont resent them, DeCaro said, but I feel like they are not stepping up to the plate at the time when they must.

Gay comedians are always on top of things when it comes to politics. Kate Clinton, a self-described faith-based, tax-paying, America-loving political humorist and family entertainer, said that people first pay attention to her political views not her gayness. Sometimes comedians views stir controversy, like when Leah Delaria, a Broadway actress, comedian, writer and jazz musician, recently cracked vulgar jokes about the first family. While in Palm Springs, performing at Evening Under the Stars, the annual benefit for AIDS Assistance Program, Delaria criticized President Bush and said she wouldnt mind having a fling with the Bush twins or even the first lady. At the panel, Dilaria stuck to her comments  and repeated them.

Comedians also thought that despite gay issues and gay marriage being discussed on the national level, Amer-ica is still not ready to see a sitcom about a gay family with children. Gold talked about the idea she had for a sitcom about a gay family, something similar to Everybody Loves Raymond, essentially about her own life. She shopped it around, but didnt find responsive audience at TV stations.

Despite blooming careers and enormous successes in show business, comedians recalled their disappointments in life. DeCaro described how he was unceremoniously fired from The Daily Show With Jon Stewart where he was a sit-down comedian for nearly seven years. Delaria spoke of her own setbacks.

I didnt get a Tony nomination that I thought I was going to get, said Delaria. I really was pissed off. I was really angry about it, upset. You didnt want to talk to me for a while. But if the worst thing thats happening in your life is that you didnt get the Tony nomination everybody thought you were going to get, youre probably leading a good life.

What keeps them going? The drugs, DeBarge joked. Later, she said it was reaching out to people and making a connection with the audience. Reno said shes doing what shes doing because she was really not such a good mechanic. Murray Hill  who likes to perform late at night  said its the fact that he didnt set his alarm clock for eight years. Gold admitted shes a comedian because she has no other job skills. For Delaria, what keeps her going is the hope there might be a hot woman sitting in the front row that would want her. And Ill be there for her, said Delaria, while the audience laughed hysterically.